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Fun and Useful Apps for Teachers

The following 11 apps have been extremely useful with my teaching so I thought I would share these gems with you. Some of the apps I use daily, and others have been great resources that my not be common apps that all teachers have heard of. Please have a read through these 11 useful applications. If you find any of these helpful, or have other apps that I could add to the list, please leave a comment below.

Halftone

Halftone can be purchased for $0.99 and a slightly more enhanced version, Halftone 2, can be bought for $1.99. Both these apps allow teachers and students to easily create comic books. It includes options on everything from font, caption styles, layouts, and stamps to allow teachers and students to showcase their creativity. It also gives them the option of incorporating their own photos into the story. Teachers will find that this is creative and fun to use in the classroom. It can be utilized in a variety of ways including creative writing assignments, demonstrating mastery of a subject, or anything else you can think of. I personally use Halftone to create posters and forms for class rules or certain skills I am working on at the time.

Easy PD cost $0.99, and makes keeping track of professional development easy. You can easily track the number of hours that you have completed and take a screenshot of your results for verification. Teachers will find that it’s much easier than attempting to keep track of paper certificates. Also, records can be sent via email to the teacher or her supervisor. This is just one of the amazing apps from The PE Geek, Jarrod Robinson.

AppsGoneFree is obviously a free app. Its purpose is to compile an updated list of apps that are free for a short period of time. It features detailed descriptions, ratings, and reviews. You can download them to see if you are interested in them. Teachers will appreciate the fact that it allows you to try out the apps before paying for them. Everyone loves free apps, but some of the best ones have a small price attached to them. You will often find fantastic interactive books and student based learning educational apps. We recommend you download the free app and check the great list of free apps offered daily.

Stick Pick can be purchased for $2.99 and replaces the need for putting every student’s name on a piece of paper and drawing one to be fair. It allows you to program each student’s name onto a “popsicle stick” which you can shake, swipe, or tap to choose a student at random. However, it also does much more than this. You can incorporate Bloom’s Taxonomy into the app and that will generate questions for each student based on the level you have placed them on. There are six types of questions to choose from including knowledge and analysis. It also features an ESL section for students learning the English language. Teachers will also like that it allows you to track student’s responses using a built-in Critical Thinking Rubric. A student’s results can be viewed individually and emailed to the appropriate people.

Barefoot Word Atlas is an app that has recently become free. It allows students to learn more about different locations throughout the world. Students can simply spin the globe, zoom in on a particular area they are interested in, and tap on people, animals, and landmarks to learn more. Voice narration, text, and pictures provide the students with interesting information. Teachers will find that this is particularly helpful in educating students and entertaining them. It is ideal for introducing new cultures and important landmarks to the class.

Pages can be purchased for $9.99 which may seem pricey but it is actually worth the cost in many cases. It gives students and teachers the ability to create Word documents from their iPad. The typing is quick and the auto correct is very handy. Students and teachers have the ability to email assignments back and forth through this app. Teachers will appreciate that it is an ideal replacement for Word that is user friendly. I use ‘Pages’ to design flyers, handouts and other information for students, which I can design personally for each topic which often creates greater learning in my classroom.

Skitch is a free app and is a continuation of the Evernote app. It has numerous capabilities that are perfect in the classroom. It allows teachers to share maps, photos, web pages, or original drawings. Additionally, it allows the user to create handwritten notes, which can be useful in the classroom. It allows skitches to be saved and accessed across different devices. Teachers will appreciate the ability to annotate images, maps, and screenshots as well as save handwritten notes to be viewed later. I have found Skitch to be a great tool in meetings where I need little notes to remind me of tasks to complete at a later date.

Audio Boo is a free app that allows teachers to create and share podcasts with other teachers, students, and parents. However, videos are limited to a maximum of 5 minutes. Videos are then posted online for viewers. Teachers will find that it is a very simple way to relay messages to parents. It is perfect for sending out with a list of the upcoming week’s assignments and events on Mondays instead of the traditional newsletter that is frequently lost before parents are able to see it! It is also a great way to allow students to practice reading and pronunciation skills when learning a new language. They can share with peers and teachers for feedback. Audioboo can be used in so many different ways. The app has so many amazing features it is defiantly worth a look.

Pick Me! costs $1.99 and is perfect for teachers that have students reluctant to participate in class discussions or who find they have discussions dominated by just a few students. The app selects students at random. It also gives teachers the opportunity to jot down a short note next to the student’s name to help you recall their level of participation at a later date. Teachers will appreciate this app because it eliminates the need for them to pick whose turn it is to answer questions and makes everything “fair”, which students find very important. Pick me also shows you how many times each student has been selected, this can be very helpful data for parent meetings and also reports. At the end of each term you will have lots of little comments that will build up on each student that required minimal time to complete.

Wolfram Alpha can be purchased for $2.99 and is intended to act as a reference tool for numerous subjects including chemistry, biology, math, geography, and more. It can perform calculations, provides facts and figures about almost any subject you can imagine, and more. Teachers, school systems, and parents will appreciate the fact that the math component eliminates the need for costly TI−83 calculators that students frequently misplace or mix up with other students. For $2.99 this app is a bargain and will be a great tool for teachers in the classroom and parents at home.

Phoster costs $1.99 and is the perfect app for creating posters. It is user friendly and has numerous templates to choose from. It is ideal for designing unique posters for your classroom instead of having the same few that every other teacher has. It is also perfect for students to use to create posters for class presentations. Teachers will also find that it is useful to create posters advertising class events, fundraisers, and more. It even allows you to post your creations on social media sites to share with others.